NATIVE AFFAIRS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 152, 21 March 1908, Page 6

NATIVE AFFAIRS.

- Sir,— I Tho concluding in your subleader on ;" Discontented Natives" in today's issue havo hit tho nail on the liead. So long as the present Minister occupics tho position of Minister for Native Affairs, so long will tho Natives cry out in distress. It is nonsense for the European public to say that tho Maoris' grievance is imaginary, and thoso who follow the work of the Native Department, and who know something about tho internal working of this liugo ccippus will tell you that it is only for the want of organisation that the position has been allowed to remain. It is, of course, all very well for you'and other people to adviso tho Maoris to take action by medium of their member and work through Parliament, but herein lies,the greatest evil of all—the fcur I member's' tinder' special representation ])clicy are entirely useless. Couple then this fact with a tired and- out-of-date Minister and: the result is' apparent. . . It is admitted that 'the petition to tho King is of little use) but what, else can tboy do? Small fortunes' have been spent by many leading Maoris through having to live in Wellington in order to be in touch ,with tho Na-' tivo Minister; and _ tho Native Affairs' Committee during session time, but no notice is. taken of., them, and so the ball rolls on. When they are. able to bring out a good man • to represent an electorate, what happens? Why ; someone gets him by tho nose and puts' him either a permanent ,Government billet,'or on to some commission, and he is lost to his .constituency. If. the English people want to do the fair thing to the Maoris, and I am glad to think that they do,'then there are two,things to be done, and if you want to allay the present wave of discontent among the Maori people, theso must be done at once. 1 First, abolish I special Maori representation, and, secondly, change the Minister in charge. In the former case the benefits need but little explanation, as. they are quite obvious to even the layman. Each and ovory one of seventysix mombers 'having a littlo interest in Native affairs 'is bettor than having four with full interests and soventy-two without any at all—l am, etc., H. D. BENNETT. Taihape. ' :